The Golden Age of Television

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But Ralph (Jackie Gleason) never really abused his wife, Alice (Audrey Meadows). The love between them was palpable. In fact, Alice often called the shots in The Honeymooners, while making Ralph believe he was in charge. The show was way ahead of its time besides being hilarious and, in my view, the greatest sitcom of all time, not excepting Seinfeld.
I’d never really beat the tar out of someone for being a different race to mine, so by your logic joking about doing so should be fine?

Of course not - the fact that I personally would never commit racial or domestic violence wouldn’t make my joking about it any less insulting or upsetting to victims of these types of violence. I work with victims of dv, so trust me on this.
 
My favorite old sitcom was Car 54 Where Are You…bought DH a dvd set a few years ago for Christmas, and they are a real hoot to watch even now! By the time you got well into the 60s the comedy got kinda stupid on many (ex: Gilligan’s Island).

Since Dad had control of the tv when I was growing up, we watching a LOT of westerns. And those have held up well, also…I still enjoy watching Bonanza, High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Big Valley…they had entertaining story lines and were well acted.
We watched Bonanza, and Lawrence Welk (two of Dad’s favorites) I and my grandma used to watch “The Twilight Zone” while I cuddled next to her to keep from being scared.🤷 There were a few shows that didn’t last very long that I enjoyed such as "The Troubleshooters " “Way Out” Anyone remember The Millionaire? About this rich guy who would anonymously give. $1 million to someone he’d never met? I always wished he’d come to my parents and give them the money:shrug: Then I found out it was just a made up story. Sort of like when I found out there was no Santa Claus:(
The Steve Allen Show: His mock “Man on The.Street” interviews. Tom Poston always played a guy who couldn’t remember his name; Don Knotts was a guy who was extremely nervous, there was a man who always said “hi-oh, Steverino!” Steve Allen would often play the piano and while he was playing the cameras would have all these crazy angles and shots.
 
Television isn’t the unifying medium that it was in decades past, so it’s probably easy to feel nostalgic about shows such as “Happy Days,” “MASH,” and “Cheers.” Frankly I find many of those shows more than a little cheesy.

There’s certainly a lot less sentimentality on television now than there was even when “Friends” was on the air. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. It’s too bad they can’t find a happy medium between sentimentality and the sort of dark, edgy and violent programs that dominate television these days.
 
Television isn’t the unifying medium that it was in decades past, so it’s probably easy to feel nostalgic about shows such as “Happy Days,” “MASH,” and “Cheers.” Frankly I find a lot of those shows cheesy.
Perry Como who was sponsored by Kraft Cheese:D
 
We watched Bonanza, and Lawrence Welk (two of Dad’s favorites) I and my grandma used to watch “The Twilight Zone” while I cuddled next to her to keep from being scared.🤷 There were a few shows that didn’t last very long that I enjoyed such as "The Troubleshooters " “Way Out” Anyone remember The Millionaire? About this rich guy who would anonymously give. $1 million to someone he’d never met? I always wished he’d come to my parents and give them the money:shrug: Then I found out it was just a made up story. Sort of like when I found out there was no Santa Claus:(
The Steve Allen Show: His mock “Man on The.Street” interviews. Tom Poston always played a guy who couldn’t remember his name; Don Knotts was a guy who was extremely nervous, there was a man who always said “hi-oh, Steverino!” Steve Allen would often play the piano and while he was playing the cameras would have all these crazy angles and shots.
You watched “Way Out”? I remember that short-lived horror series: some truly frightening episodes, even more so than “One Step Beyond.” I saw one or two of them recently on YouTube and still find them upsetting. “The Twilight Zone” was, and is, unique.

How about “Playhouse 90,” “The Bell Telephone Hour,” and “The Ed Sullivan Show”? A bygone and golden age for sure.
 
You watched “Way Out”? I remember that short-lived horror series: some truly frightening episodes, even more so than “One Step Beyond.” I saw one or two of them recently on YouTube and still find them upsetting. “The Twilight Zone” was, and is, unique.

How about “Playhouse 90,” “The Bell Telephone Hour,” and “The Ed Sullivan Show”? A bygone and golden age for sure.
One favorite episode of Way Out was about a photographer who developed a retouching fluid the whenever he would retouch a photograph the change would also appear on the face of the person. He was retouching a photo of his wife to make her more ugly and a photograph of himself to make himself more handsome. His wife discovered what he was doing, a fight ensued, in the fight some of the fluid spilled on his photo obliterating one side of his face. When he rose up his actual face was half obliterated:cool: I also remember Playhouse 90, Bell Telephone Hour, Ed Sullivan Shew, the US Steel Hour, the Dinah Shore Chevy Show., Eddie Fisher, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Arthur Godfrey, Ding DongSchool, Kukls, Fran and Ollie, Liberace Pinky Lee, Howdy Doody
 
Anyone remember The Millionaire? About this rich guy who would anonymously give. $1 million to someone he’d never met? I always wished he’d come to my parents and give them the money:shrug: Then I found out it was just a made up story. Sort of like when I found out there was no Santa Claus😦
Wait…what? :eek:
 
One favorite episode of Way Out was about a photographer who developed a retouching fluid the whenever he would retouch a photograph the change would also appear on the face of the person. He was retouching a photo of his wife to make her more ugly and a photograph of himself to make himself more handsome. His wife discovered what he was doing, a fight ensued, in the fight some of the fluid spilled on his photo obliterating one side of his face. When he rose up his actual face was half obliterated:cool: I also remember Playhouse 90, Bell Telephone Hour, Ed Sullivan Shew, the US Steel Hour, the Dinah Shore Chevy Show., Eddie Fisher, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Arthur Godfrey, Ding DongSchool, Kukls, Fran and Ollie, Liberace Pinky Lee, Howdy Doody
Kukla, Fran and Ollie! One live woman and two puppets. I read once that the show was not scripted. I guess they started with an idea and just went with it.

Good grief, now I am even recalling Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, the paragons of pronunciation.

The Bell Telephone Hour, The U.S. Steel Hour, Dinah Shore Chevy Show, --just one sponsor for a one hour show!
 
Perry Como who was sponsored by Kraft Cheese:D
I borrowed some DVD’s from my older brother. One is of the The Burns and Allen tv shows. It looks like the earlier versions. Carnation Evaporated Milk was promoted during the shows. The actors would give recipe ideas and demonstrate how to use the milk product on the show itself. I remember watching the Ozzie and Harriet reruns many years ago. Those were really good shows.
 
The Steve Allen Show: His mock “Man on The.Street” interviews. Tom Poston always played a guy who couldn’t remember his name; Don Knotts was a guy who was extremely nervous, there was a man who always said “hi-oh, Steverino!” Steve Allen would often play the piano and while he was playing the cameras would have all these crazy angles and shots.
The guy who said “Hi-Ho, Steverino” was Louis Nye. Many actors and singers were “discovered” by Allen. He left a legacy in television. Of course, there would not have been the Tonight Show or for that matter, any talk shows, if not for him. There would have been no “Jaywalking” if not for its granddaddy “Man on the Street”. Even Allen’s afternoon talk-show in the '60’s was great stuff. 🙂
 
The guy who said “Hi-Ho, Steverino” was Louis Nye. Many actors and singers were “discovered” by Allen. He left a legacy in television. Of course, there would not have been the Tonight Show or for that matter, any talk shows, if not for him. There would have been no “Jaywalking” if not for its granddaddy “Man on the Street”. Even Allen’s afternoon talk-show in the '60’s was great stuff. 🙂
Thanks. I couldn’t remember Louis Nye’s name. They also had Bill Dana who played Jose Jiminez. When the Tijuana Brass became popular enough to do concerts, Bill Dana was employed to teach them how to do a mock Spanish accent! Wasn’t Steve Allen’s wife Jane Meadows a panel member on “I’ve Got A Secret?” That was an early game show with Gary Moore as MC. I remember Winston Cigarettes were the sponsor and everyone on the show was encouraged to smoke. (Everyone who was on the show eventually died of some smoking-related disease.)
 
Thanks. I couldn’t remember Louis Nye’s name. They also had Bill Dana who played Jose Jiminez. When the Tijuana Brass became popular enough to do concerts, Bill Dana was employed to teach them how to do a mock Spanish accent! Wasn’t Steve Allen’s wife Jane Meadows a panel member on “I’ve Got A Secret?” That was an early game show with Gary Moore as MC. I remember Winston Cigarettes were the sponsor and everyone on the show was encouraged to smoke. (Everyone who was on the show eventually died of some smoking-related disease.)
I know the show “I’ve Got a Secret” but I always get it mixed up with “What’s My Line?” 🙂 I think you’re right about Jayne M being one of the panelists on IGAS. I think Allen hosted the show at one time, but for the life of me, I can’t remember watching it when he hosted. I remember seeing with it with Garry Moore, which was earlier. I might have seen the reruns. And speaking of smoking, do you remember Ernie Kovacs and his Muriel Cigars? (Another show that I only remember from reruns 😃 )
 
I know the show “I’ve Got a Secret” but I always get it mixed up with “What’s My Line?” 🙂 I think you’re right about Jayne M being one of the panelists on IGAS. I think Allen hosted the show at one time, but for the life of me, I can’t remember watching it when he hosted. I remember seeing with it with Garry Moore, which was earlier. I might have seen the reruns. And speaking of smoking, do you remember Ernie Kovacs and his Muriel Cigars? (Another show that I only remember from reruns 😃 )
Remember Route 66 about these two guys that drove all over the country in a Corvette (Chevy sponsored the show) How they could afford a Corvette was a mystery to me since they never had a job:shrug: Also Chevy sponsored Bonanza. Some of the actors, I understand, would sometimes make personal appearances at Chevy dealers to promote the cars

Then there was Tennessee Ernie, who was always sponsored by FORD. Sometimes a guest on his show would mention one of the other car companies (GM or Chrysler and it would always get him laughing or his face would blush) he would very often sing hymns and we thought he was a very devout person, but in real life he was an alcoholic and quite different from his tv persona 🤷
 
Remember Route 66 about these two guys that drove all over the country in a Corvette (Chevy sponsored the show) How they could afford a Corvette was a mystery to me since they never had a job:shrug: Also Chevy sponsored Bonanza. Some of the actors, I understand, would sometimes make personal appearances at Chevy dealers to promote the cars

Then there was Tennessee Ernie, who was always sponsored by FORD. Sometimes a guest on his show would mention one of the other car companies (GM or Chrysler and it would always get him laughing or his face would blush) he would very often sing hymns and we thought he was a very devout person, but in real life he was an alcoholic and quite different from his tv persona 🤷
I saw a rerun of Route 66 about a month ago…it was on a station called Retro TV. At least I think that’s what it was…it was black and white, and pretty cheesy lol!!!

There used to be a show on called Queen For A Day…my Mom watched it. They would choose a housewife and make her “queen”…I never paid much attention to it, but Mom liked it.
 
My favorite old sitcom was Car 54 Where Are You…bought DH a dvd set a few years ago for Christmas, and they are a real hoot to watch even now! By the time you got well into the 60s the comedy got kinda stupid on many (ex: Gilligan’s Island).

Since Dad had control of the tv when I was growing up, we watching a LOT of westerns. And those have held up well, also…I still enjoy watching Bonanza, High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Big Valley…they had entertaining story lines and were well acted.
Loved Car 54. My Mother the Car.
Perry Como who was sponsored by Kraft Cheese😃
You rang?! 😃
 
I know that the Honeymooners is a great, classic show, an iconic show in most ways, well written and brilliantly acted with memorable characters and yet … I find it hard to get past the grainy black and white film and the overall “theatrical” quality of it, that is, the feeling that I’m watching a theater play performed on a stage with a television camera trained on the action, which is entirely due to the fact that it is from television’s infancy when the medium took its cues from radio drama and the theater.
 
I know that the Honeymooners is a great, classic show, an iconic show in most ways, well written and brilliantly acted with memorable characters and yet … I find it hard to get past the grainy black and white film and the overall “theatrical” quality of it, that is, the feeling that I’m watching a theater play performed on a stage with a television camera trained on the action, which is entirely due to the fact that it is from television’s infancy when the medium took its cues from radio drama and the theater.
A well done production et al, innovative; still not one of my favorites.
BUT!!! There was a very touching episode where they came close to adopting a baby.
Alice’s disappointment was very palpable. Well played.
 
I know that the Honeymooners is a great, classic show, an iconic show in most ways, well written and brilliantly acted with memorable characters and yet … I find it hard to get past the grainy black and white film and the overall “theatrical” quality of it, that is, the feeling that I’m watching a theater play performed on a stage with a television camera trained on the action, which is entirely due to the fact that it is from television’s infancy when the medium took its cues from radio drama and the theater.
An interesting observation. Most of those early TV shows were performed on a stage and were of necessity broadcast "live’ because video recording had not been invented yet. The only way to “record” a show in those days was to set up a movie camera in front of a TV monitor and film the whole show as it happened. Those films were called kinescopes, and the quality is pretty awful. Many shows were never recorded in that manner and have been lost forever.

It’s remarkable that many Vaudeville performers made the switch to radio first, and then to television later. I think of the ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (and his dummy Charlie McCarthy). He had a radio show! No wonder his lips always moved when he made the switch to TV.
 
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